Dial Daily Bread: A Book the Savior Commands Us to Understand

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Daniel is the one book in the Bible that Jesus singled out, urging us to both "read" and "understand": "'When you see the "abomination of desolation," spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place' (whoever reads, let him understand)" (Matt. 24:15).

To read the book is not difficult; the problem is to understand it. But the understanding part is not "take it or leave it"; He commands us to understand it. But how can one be commanded to understand something he doesn't understand? Is understanding Daniel a duty laid upon us by our Savior?

Yes; He says "let" yourself understand it. In other words, the Holy Spirit is seeking to give you an understanding of Daniel; now don't hinder Him in what He is trying to do for you.

The particular portion of Daniel that Jesus commands us to "understand" is the prophetic portion; but it can't be only a coincidence that the narrative portions of the book are all concerned with life or death issues:

Chapter one is the test of the Hebrew boys on idolatry; chapter two is the test of understanding the king's dream; chapter three is the test of the fiery furnace; chapter five is the test of Belshazzar's feast; and chapter six is the test of the lions' den. All serious!

Then Revelation picks up the story and tells us that understanding truth will be the issue in the final test of choosing the seal of God or the mark of the beast (chapters 7 and 13). Our soul's salvation will ultimately be bound up with deciding for ourselves what is the truth of a controversial issue of understanding Daniel and Revelation--the prophecies.

Jesus could well have added, "Let him who reads tremble ..." Right now there are issues of truth that draw deeply on one's soul. There's never a vacation from the need of thinking clearly and truthfully. Every day we are facing King Nebuchadnezzar's image of gold with his fiery furnace, and also his lions' den.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: April 3, 2007.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Superpower of Revelation 13

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Does the Bible prophesy a great political Superpower to dominate the world in the last days? Yes, both Daniel and Revelation say so. And it's not a fanciful, fanatical "guru's" private interpretation that says so. (You know, Peter says, "No prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation." We must not be misled by self-appointed expositor-dreamers, but cherish that "prophetic word made more sure" and "do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (2 Peter 1:20, 19).

For hundreds of years serious-minded Protestant Bible scholars have understood that Daniel and Revelation describe a union of church and state that dominated the nations of Europe for 1260 years. Revelation 13 features it as the religio-politico heir to the "power, ... throne, and great authority" of the pagan Roman Empire (vss. 1-8).

John Wesley so understood the prophecy back in the 18th century, but confessed he could not understand who would be the second great Superpower mentioned in verses 11-18; he opposed the American Revolution and Independence of the Thirteen Colonies, never dreaming of their later meteoric historic rise to world prominence.

Revelation pictures this second Superpower as having "two horns like a lamb," understood by Protestant scholars as the twin principles of civil and religious liberty which have been the secret of the phenomenal success of the United States. But as one studies this prophetic scenario, he sees that Islam is not to become the great world super-religion; it has occupied historically the role of a tormentor of apostate Christianity (see Revelation 9), but never dominating or conquering it.

So benign has been the world's current Superpower that its customs and immigration officials have stamped passports and visas and unwittingly told its Muslim suicide bombers, "Welcome to the United States!" Revelation pictures this Superpower as at last angrily speaking "like a dragon," telling the world what to do (Rev. 13:11-14). Study Revelation!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 16, 2001.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Will the Church Ever Become Pure and Clean?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Will the church on earth ever become pure and clean? Harried and bewildered church leaders (even at the very top) long for when the Holy Spirit will be honored and listened to, instead of "insulted" as inspired history says has been.

The Bible over and over says that the answer is "yes."

The Lord Jesus did not die in vain. For example, Psalm 22 assures us that as Jesus hung on His cross in the darkness crying, "Why have You forsaken Me?" He was granted the assurance that His suffering was not to be in vain: "All the ends of the world shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before You. For the kingdom is the Lord's. ... A posterity ["seed," King James Version] shall serve Him. ... They will come and declare His righteousness to a people who will be born" (vss. 27-31).

On His cross, Christ gained the victory over the Enemy of the universe!

But for how long will new generations continue to "be born," further postponing the time when "[Christ] shall see the travail of His soul, and be satisfied"? (Isa. 53:11). Is it always to be in a future generation that these wonderful prophesies will be fulfilled?

The prophet Daniel has assured us that in "the time of the end" "those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament [obviously "shine" without it going to their heads in pride!]; and they that turn many to righteousness [when the earth is lightened with the glory of the final message of righteousness by faith, Rev. 18:1-4], ... like the stars forever and ever" (12:4, 3).

Therefore, the remaining question is: Have we come to "the time of the end," or is it still future?

Revelation unseals Daniel: the 1260 years of papal oppression (Rev. 12:6-17) ended in 1798; we are in "the time of the end," when "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea" (Hab. 2:14).

That "knowledge" is "the truth of the gospel " which "truth shall make you free" (Gal. 2:5; John 8:32). The truth is what happened at the cross. With no extremism but presented in perfect "balance," the church will proclaim the "third angel's message in verity" as "not to know anything ... except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (cf. 1 Cor. 2:2).

The result: hierarchical self will at last be gladly "crucified with Christ" (cf. Gal. 2:20). Then things will move. Let it be ... now.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 12, 2007.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: What Is, and What Is Not, Genuine Love?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There are some two-hundred references to love in the New Testament. One says, "God is love" (1 John 4:8). If that is true, we should be preaching love a thousand times more than we do!

The problem is that the Enemy has kidnapped the New Testament idea of love (agape) from Christianity and substituted the Hellenistic, pagan idea instead (eros). Most Christians do not understand the difference. The New Testament idea of love is not soft on sin--it is the only effective antidote to it. There is nothing mushy about agape; the same God who is agape is also "a consuming fire" (Heb. 12:29). Long before the flames of the last days are let loose, that holy fire will have burned highly refined self-centeredness out of every Laodicean heart where genuine faith in Christ will let it do so.

To talk about the law without understanding agape, "brings about wrath" and actually contributes to sin. Only "agape is the fulfillment of the law" (Rom. 4:15; 13:10). It follows that the remnant church who "keep the commandments of God" will be a people virtually obsessed with agape. A wise writer has said, "The last rays of merciful light, the last message of mercy to be given to the world, is a revelation of His character of love. The children of God are to manifest His glory." That message is not soft-soap.

The all-important question in the Judgment will be, have we learned to love? Not how many "works of the law" we have toted up. Jesus separates the sheep and the goats on that one score of true love (Matt. 25:31-46). John's magnificent chapter on agape-love reveals the test of whether or not we know God: "everyone who loves is born of God, and knows God. He who does not love [with agape] does not know God" (1 John 4:7, 8).

What an unmitigated tragedy to stand at last before the Lord pleading all our "wonderful works" and prophesyings, and casting out devils, all in His name, and hear Him say to us sadly, "Sorry, it wasn't I who answered those prayers; 'I never knew you'" (Matt. 7:21-23).

What is real love, agape? We cannot understand the holy law of God without understanding it, for "God is agape."

--Robert J. Wieland

From: "Law and Love: Inseparable or Incompatible?" A Thought Paper.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: How a Pure Gospel Message Can Have Power

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Everywhere the early apostles preached, something happened--either a riot or a revival. The reason they could turn "the world upside down" was not their cleverness or their personalities. The power was in the content of their message.

Peter's sermon at Pentecost reveals the source of their power: they understood what the atonement implies. Not just the Jewish leaders, but all in the Gentile world were declared to be guilty of the rejection and murder of the Son of God. Pentecost was the corporate guilt of all humanity exposed. Enmity against God had blossomed into the supreme crime of eternity. The apostles minced no words in telling it (Acts 2:23-37; "corporate" pertains to the human race as one "body"). It was the proclamation of that truth which catalyzed humanity.

The latter rain gift of the Holy Spirit will come before the grain can ripen, as Pentecost was the early rain that caused it to germinate. The truth of the gospel will do the work (cf. Gal. 2:14).

Some of the human problems which the gospel of the apostles solved were the same ones that perplex psychiatrists and social scientists today. The miracles in Corinth were greater than mere physical healings (see 1 Cor. 6:9-11). These same problems afflict the human race today, but they have become worse.

These problems are not mere occasional moral lapses. Each becomes a compulsive obsession or addiction, with roots going down to people's toes. Addicts seem powerless to break their slaveries.

How were those problems solved in Corinth? Paul gives the answer in his letter to the Corinthians: by the message of justification by faith. "You were washed, ... you were sanctified, ... you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus."

--Robert J. Wieland

From: Powerful Good News, 1989.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: An Appeal of Jesus That's Almost Universally Disregarded

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There are two books in the Bible that the Lord Jesus has especially appealed to His followers to "read" and "understand." And very likely, no matter what church you may attend, you rarely hear a sermon that explains those two books. The appeal of Jesus seems to be almost universally disregarded, even among His professed friends who say they're the church that keeps the commandments of God and has the faith of Jesus.

Those two special books are Daniel the prophet in the Old Testament (see Matt. 24:15), and the last book of the Bible, The Revelation (see 1:1-3).

The great user-friendly megachurches downplay Daniel and Revelation. The Enemy in the great controversy between Christ and Satan has two methods of attack on this truth: (1) minimize attention, neglect the two books, make people think the prophecies are impossible to understand; (2) inspire fanatics to invent new and fantastic "interpretations" of the books that are said to be senseless and self-contradictory.

Let the Lord deliver you from both of these heresies: (1) Daniel declares that his prophecies were unsealed as "the time of the end" began (cf. 11:35; 12:4); (2) Christ Himself pronounces a special "blessing" on the one who either reads or listens to someone else read, the prophecies of the book of Revelation (1:1-3).

Both Daniel and Revelation make clear that "the time of the end" began at the end of the 1260 years of the Dark Ages, the time of papal oppression, in 1798. It was then that Daniel's prophecies were unsealed. The understanding of these prophecies of Daniel and Revelation that was held by those who emerged from that darkness is the understanding that Jesus declared would confirm God's people to the end. He said: "Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things are fulfilled" (Matt. 24:34).

The glorious light of that "other angel" of Revelation 18 was a gift that God gave to "the angel of the church of the Laodiceans" and the gift was within the lifetime of those pioneers; but the light was in a great degree kept away both from the church and from the world. The truth of why Christ has not yet come is so simple that even a young person can understand!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 5, 2007.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Those 144,000--Are They Special?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

They keep popping up--those 144,000 (Revelation 7 and 14)! People are intrigued by them! Several have asked, "Are they special besides the vast number of earth's last generation who will be ready when Jesus returns? Are they an elite group? Maybe teachers or guides of the 'common people' who will also be 'translated'?"

We dare not add to what the Bible says. We must take a lowly position in trying to explain who these people are. The Holy Spirit does not stoop to satisfy mere curiosity. But we must think about the character of this special group. Why? It might be possible that the Holy Spirit is right now saying to you, "Come" and be one of those 144,000 (see Rev. 22:17; ponder what it means).

If so, would it be appropriate for us to answer Him, "No, thanks; I want to go to heaven but I don't want to be in a special group that requires such devotion and self-sacrifice"? Can we refuse any invitation the Holy Spirit may bring to us and still be ready when Jesus returns?

Or, in other words, does the Holy Spirit offer us our choice of first- or second-class tickets? If so, then some dear people would choose second class. They would say, "I don't want to experience the great devotion of those who 'follow the Lamb wherever He goes,' who stand before the throne of God 'without fault' (Rev. 14:4, 5). That's too high a standard; I don't want a great 'mansion' in heaven like the apostle Paul will have--a shack in the Holy City is all I want if I can just squeeze inside the pearly gate" (this idea is the source of widespread "lukewarmness").

A couple of questions to think about: Are there really first- and second-class tickets to heaven? Can you say "No!" to the Bridegroom-Lover and still be a "guest at the wedding"?

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 26, 2002.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Why Repentance and Forgiveness Are So Closely Tied Together

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Repentance is not something that we can generate within ourselves at will: "Him [Christ] God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31).

As a gift, repentance is worth more than any money could be, for it provides the only avenue of escape from our inward prison, which we detest. It is a supernaturally endowed hatred of sin and a corresponding love for righteousness. Automatically, this produces a change in the life. It is not a work that you perform. The Holy Spirit does it in you. Your "job" is to "let" Him do it, to "let" Him give His gift. Don't push Him away.

The original New Testament word for forgiveness does not mean a mere pardon, as though God blinks His eye at our sin and excuses it the way you excuse someone for stepping on your toe. The word means "taking away" the sin. God's forgiveness is powerful.

This is why repentance and forgiveness are so closely tied together. A truly repenting person can be freely forgiven by God because the repenting person now hates the sin itself, and therefore the sin is actually gone. Because Christ "gave Himself for our sins" (Gal. 1:4), they are rightfully His, and we have no right to hang on to them. Anyone who clings to his sins is robbing Christ of what He bought with His blood And where does Christ put those sins He takes away? "[He] will trample our sins underfoot and send them to the bottom of the sea!" (Micah 7:19, Good News Bible).

Any brand of justification by faith that does not include genuine forgiveness as remission of sins and salvation from sin is a counterfeit. It is not the New Testament kind. But New Testament justification by faith never produces pride or fanaticism. He who remembers Christ's cross can have no "holier-than-thou" spirit. He is always aware that he has not one iota of righteousness himself. He knows his weakness, how prone he is to respond to temptation, how easily he can fall. His loyalty to Christ is not a self-centered desire for a reward in heaven but a heartfelt longing to live to the honor and glory of His crucified Redeemer. He has found something to be concerned about that is vastly greater than his own personal security or "acceptance" with God.

Like a bride who is concerned for her husband's honor, the believer is caught up in the most thrilling motivation human hearts can ever know--sympathy with Christ in His closing work of atonement.

--Robert J. Wieland

From: Gold Tried in the Fire, 1993.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Is It Our Job to Initiate a "Relationship" With Jesus?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

It's conventional wisdom among many that it's our job to initiate a "relationship" with the Lord Jesus, and then it's our job to "maintain" it. The basic idea seems to be that the Lord is waiting for us to hang on, and if we fall off or backslide, too bad for us. He is like a storekeeper waiting for us to find Him. If we don't, we've had it.

The truth is that we're not strong enough to make a success of hanging on. The "everlasting gospel" has better Good News for us: Our salvation does not depend on our strength in holding on to the Lord, but on our believing that the Lord is holding on to us. The Bible pleads, "Be reconciled to God" (2 Cor. 5:29). A clearer understanding of His on-going, persistent love is needed; the Good Shepherd is not waiting for the lost sheep to find his way back.

The Lord is not like a storekeeper waiting for us to come to where He is, popular and orthodox as that idea has been; He is going door to door, knocking, seeking us (Rev. 3:20). He "will seek what was lost" (Ezek. 34:16). When God so loved the world that He gave so much, He took the initiative in seeking a "relationship" with us. We didn't ask Him to do it! Further, now He seeks to maintain the "relationship" with us, "awakening [us] morning by morning," to educate us and train us (Isa. 50:4).

The Father took the initiative in waking Jesus up every morning! Does He love us less? Our problem is that we so often refuse; we pull the covers over our head, or we sleep late because we stayed up late the night before. We don't respond as Jesus did (vs. 5).

He tries to maintain that "relationship," but it is possible to wear out His patience; He Himself is infinite, but His patience is not. Anyone can insult the Lord and abuse Him only so long. "Consider the goodness and severity of God" (Rom. 11:22). It makes sense.

For each who is saved at last, it's God who took the initiative; for each who is lost at last, it will be he who took the initiative in turning away from the pleading of the Holy Spirit. You cannot fall into a ditch without the Holy Spirit warning you! But if you silence His voice so long, you become deaf to His pleading. Let's learn now to recognize that voice.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: December 23, 2006.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Does Christianity Have Anything to Offer a Distraught World?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Consider this string of IF's:

• If God is a personal Being who can be described as a loving heavenly Father;
• If Jesus of Nazareth is the divine Son of God, the world's Savior;
• If His sacrifice on His cross is the world's moment of truth;
• If the Bible is the inspired word of God, given for the instruction and the uplift of mankind;
• If God has a plan of salvation that is effective;
• If there is hope for the world, a light at the end of our cosmic tunnel;

Then sin must somehow be eradicated from the vast universe of God.

The idea of an eternal conscious hell as the domicile of lost people (yes, lost angels, too), must mean the plague of sin with its agony, hatred, and suffering must continue forever in God's vast universe.

If the above has any significant content of truth, then the biblical doctrine of the Sanctuary (Leviticus, Old Testament; Hebrews, New Testament) must be the answer to the universal problem of sin (which is the source of all the agony that afflicts the world).

The idea that "God is love" (agape) is totally inconsistent with the idea that sin must be ineradicable from human hearts. The Hebrew Day of Atonement was the one day in the year that prefigured in type the final cleansing of God's great economy and "to bring in everlasting righteousness" (Dan. 9:24).

If Jesus Christ ministering as the world's great High Priest is incapable of developing a people as a corporate body who have "overcome" sin even as He "also overcame" (Rev. 3:20), then Christianity has nothing to offer a distraught world.

It's time to do some serious thinking about what the gospel means.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 21, 2004.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Living Soberly in Today's World

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

There are those who joke about the scandals that have permeated U.S. news. The angels who observe all that happens on this earth (heaven is close to earth!) are not joking. When young people, even children, are being poisoned by cynicism and immorality, angels weep, for death is nothing to joke about. And sin and immorality produce death, not only for individuals, but for society. What the Bible calls "iniquity" can and does destroy souls--we can "die" reveling in our luxury.

It was immorality and depravity, sin, that destroyed the ancient world when only one family was preserved in the ark. Jesus has said that in this time of the end, it will be "as the days of Noah were" (see Matt. 24:37, 38). "Noah ... became heir of the righteousness which is [by] faith" (Heb. 11:7). While so many were joking about righteousness, Noah was sober.

Peter urges us to be sober right now: "Be serious and watchful in your prayers," "be sober, be vigilant" (1 Peter 4:7; 5:8). Paul says that the more we understand and appreciate the grace of God, it teaches us "that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age" (Titus 2:11, 12).

The time is coming soon when just staying alive will require careful thinking, sobriety. But that careful thinking will not be an obsession with self, or "how can I be sure I survive?" but a heart-union with Christ in the closing scenes of this earth's history. It will mean sharing His concern for souls, cooperating with Him. Being sober? Yes, but also being supremely happy; for there is no happiness living apart from Christ.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 25, 1998.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Two Great Truths Being Seen Clearly in These Last Days

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Bible clearly says something that some theologians haven't wanted to believe: "Jesus Christ the righteous ... is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world" (1 John 2:1, 2).

Our dear brother John Calvin couldn't see what it says; he maintained that it meant only that it's just "the elect" in "all the world" who are meant; not everybody (Calvin's Commentaries, 16th century). This seems still to be the greatest hurdle that many Christians have--to understand who Jesus is.

He is "the Savior of the world" (John 4:42); He was sent to "give eternal life" to "all flesh" (17:2), to "give life to the world" (6:33, 51); He died the death which is the punishment for sin for "everyone" (Heb 2:9); He became the second Adam of the human race, reversing all the "condemnation" that the first Adam brought upon the race (Rom. 5:15-18).

Why couldn't John Calvin see the Good News? What blinded his eyes? He was living still in the "wilderness" of the Dark Ages, before the full light of the gospel was to be seen clearly after the 1260 years (Rev. 12:6). He was bound by the unbiblical idea that God's grace is "irresistible," that if God "wills" that a person be saved, that person's perverse "will" cannot "frustrate the grace of God." It means logically that one's going to be saved even if he disbelieves to the bitter end.

Two great truths are being seen clearly in these last days: (1) the extent of the "width and length and depth and height" of the love (agape) of Christ that "constrains" an honest-hearted person to serve Christ forever (Eph. 4:18, 19; 2 Cor. 5:14), (2) the terrible unbelief of people who want to "crucify [Christ] afresh, and put Him to an open shame" (Heb. 6:6, King James Version) and reject the "gift" that He has already given them "in Himself." They are lost not because of any arbitrary decree on the part of God, but because of their own perverse will, their unfitness for the companionship of heaven.

Nobody who "loves darkness rather than light" could be happy in heaven even if he was admitted (see John 3:18-20). So, in the end, God simply gives everybody what he or she has wanted, and has persistently chosen.

What are you choosing day by day, moment by moment? Self? Or Christ? Think deeply. The judgment is going on now; today could register your final choice.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: October 21, 1999.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Anointing--Is There Magic in the Sacred Oil?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Sickness is everywhere, and all too often it comes on us while we are too young. Moses said that "the days of our lives are seventy years; and ... by reason of [unusual physical] strength they [may] be eighty years" (Psalm 90:10), but to succumb to cancer or some other fatal malady before those allotted "years" is tragic.

It's in that circumstance that the afflicted person is to "call for the elders of the church ... [to] pray" and to "anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord." The idea is that "the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven" (James 5:14, 15).

But is there magic in the sacred oil? No, for we are not idolaters. Then why "anoint with oil"? Is it mindless "obedience" to a stipulated rule? A stern, "Do what God says if you want to be healed!"? Or could there be significance here that we are prone to overlook?

The sacred oil is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. And James assumes that the "elders" will be mature people in the church body, consecrated to the One who died for us, whose "Christian experience" is such that they can "minister" the Holy Spirit to the afflicted person. It's not a mere physical act; there is spiritual enrichment involved here through real "forgiveness" that is more than mere pardon. It's setting free from sin.

A wise writer once said that nine-tenths of the diseases from which people suffer have their origin in the mind. Sometimes a false doctrine such as the endless torture of the lost can so alienate a person's mind from Christ that there is an acute case of heart-felt "enmity against God" (cf. Rom. 8:7). And this can be unconscious--lying beneath the surface. This becomes the pre-condition of fatal sickness.

To anoint such a one with physical oil is meaningless unless "the elders" can minister a message of peace and oneness with Christ--"Be reconciled to God"! (2 Cor. 5:20). And there of course is the message of Christ's righteousness, the “most precious message" of what really happened on His cross, and what especially happens in His High Priestly ministry on this cosmic Day of Atonement.

In such an "anointing" the person who is mentally and spiritually wearied is refreshed, and God's healing physical virtue can flow in (the Greek word translated "sick" in James 5:14 is kamno, which means to be "exhausted"). "Come to [Him], all you who labor and are heavy laden, and [He] will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 16, 2003.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Don't Be Afraid of Your Prosecutors (Or Your Persecutors!)

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Have you ever been summoned with a subpoena to court? With not one but a battery of prosecuting attorneys inquiring into intimate details of your life?

The word "subpoena" doesn't appear in the Bible but the idea is in 2 Corinthians 5:10: "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." The next verse speaks of "the terror of the Lord." Rather frightening!

"Dial Daily Bread" is devoted to telling Good News, but this sounds like Bad News. Jesus says, "There is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known" (Matt. 10:26). But that verse itself is Good News, for He adds, "Therefore do not fear them," that is, don't be afraid of your prosecutors (or your persecutors!). Why? Because in that appearance before "the judgment seat of Christ" He will be your Friend, not your Enemy if today you will simply let Him.

The Father Himself refuses to condemn you (see John 5:22). Jesus also refused to condemn anyone in that day (see John 12:47, 48). Therefore the only "condemnation" will come from what is written of "the things done in the body," a record that is indisputable, recorded not only in the "books" of heaven, but in your own soul as well. Jesus won't have to say a word; the "book" will be open. Paul says, "Some men's sins are clearly evident, proceeding them to judgment, but those of some men follow later" (1 Tim. 5:24).

The Good News is: even though there are shameful things you don't want revealed, you can "send them on beforehand to judgment." You can get on your knees and confess them to your Savior; you can even let bitter tears fall. The Holy Spirit can teach your sinful heart to hate those sins; your heart can be truly converted; you can be a new person; and you can believe the promise, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).

Good News? Yes!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 13, 1998.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Did God Put the "Brakes" on Paul?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

When the Apostle Paul became zealous and wrote his "epistles" to the Romans, the Galatians, the Ephesians, Timothy, and others, was he slipping over the 50/50 line of "balance" between faith and works? Did God raise up the Apostle James to write his "epistle" in an effort to put the "brakes" on Paul?

It's not difficult to understand this problem. If we let James have his say we see that he is in no way opposing Paul. He is simply saying that genuine faith produces works of obedience to God's law (James 2:14). It's not faith and works. James is exactly in harmony with what Paul says when he writes that what's important is "faith which works" (Gal. 5:6).

May the dear Lord deliver us from our Old Covenant mindset of self: what's important in these last days is not saving our own poor souls and getting a crown to put on our own heads, but crowning the Son of God to be King of kings and Lord of lords. We are not mere spectators sitting on the bleachers watching the great controversy being fought to a close; we are down in the arena fighting "with Him" (Rev. 17:14).

Yes, we want to be saved, of course; but on this great Day of Atonement we have grown out of our childish concern for the ice cream and cake at the "marriage of the Lamb" and we have grown up to sense the concern of the Bride at the wedding. She is not thinking now of herself as she once did in her childhood, but of her Bridegroom. We can't set the clock back nor can we hinder it telling the time of day.

Faith has come to be seen as a heart-appreciation of His love (agape); the egocentric kind of "faith" is transcended and that love of Christ constrains us "henceforth" to think and to live "unto Him which died for [us], and rose again," and not unto ourselves (2 Cor. 5:14, 15). At last, self is crucified with Christ (Gal. 2:20; 6:14), and He alone is honored.

--Robert J. Wieland

 

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: March 15, 2006.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: A Group Different From Any in All World History

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The Book of Revelation describes a people who in the last days have permitted the Holy Spirit to mold them, to teach them, to train them, to be like Christ in character:

"I looked," says John, "and behold, a Lamb standing on Mount Zion [a symbol of the church], and with Him one hundred and forty-four thousand. ... These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. ... In their mouth was found no guile, for they are without fault before the throne of God" (Rev. 14:1-5). We can't wash any portion of God's word down the drain. It's written here for us to believe.

These people, as a group, are different from any others in all world history, for "they sang as it were a new song before the throne" (vs. 3). A "new song" means a new experience; and a new experience means they have heard and received a new message, a fresh proclamation of "the everlasting gospel" which has accomplished this wonderful achievement. Yes, "the gospel of Christ ... is the power of God to salvation" (Rom. 1:16).

But this is a clearer proclamation of that gospel! Luther, Calvin, and the 16th century Reformers saw much light and were a blessing to the world. But in these last days we live in the time of the great three angels' messages of Revelation 14 and of that message of the fourth angel in chapter 18--"the everlasting gospel" is now more fully being revealed. Its purpose is not merely to prepare a people to die, but to prepare the corporate body of God's people for translation without seeing death. Granted, some will refuse this last days' ministry of Christ as our great High Priest; but there will be many who will honor Him by permitting the Holy Spirit to work upon their hearts.

Today those three angels are going everywhere in the world, proclaiming a most precious message. Soon the fourth angel will join them, and a Voice will sound from heaven in some way to every person in the world, "Come out of [Babylon], my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues" (Rev. 18:4).

That Voice is speaking to you! It is telling you the Good News that Christ has already saved you! You can be a new person; you don't have to stay in old, dark spiritual "Egypt" for He has set you free! The prison doors are open; walk out into the sunshine!

--Robert J. Wieland

From: A New Look at God's Law, 2000.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: What Does It Mean for the Bride of Christ to "Make Herself Ready"?

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

What does it mean for the Bride of Christ, "the Lamb's wife," to "make herself ready"? (Rev. 19:7). In trying to respond I would "walk humbly with [my] God" (Micah 6:8). Revelation was not written except with tears (5:4), and can be understood only by those who have accepted the "yoke" of Christ and are "gentle and lowly in heart" (Matt. 11:29).

There is, and there has been, no woman on earth who could qualify to be the Bride of Christ, the Son of God. "She" is "the church [who] is subject to Christ," not resisting Him, not crucifying Him again (Eph. 5:23-32; Heb. 6:6).

The only "church" mentioned in Revelation that could be a candidate seems to be the seventh of history, the last--Laodicea (Rev. 3:14-21). Reverent-minded scholars through the centuries have seen in verse 20 that "the Faithful and True Witness" identifies her with the bride-to-be of Song of Solomon 5:2-8, who spurned her only true lover (the "knocking at the door" is a direct quote from the Septuagint version that Jesus and the apostles used). Obviously, before the "marriage" can take place, "she" will do what He commands, "repent" (Rev. 3:19). The Song of Solomon represents her as seeking her lost Lover, almost in vain.

The "making herself ready" seems to suggest a repentance which she has at last chosen to receive, not reject (all true repentance is a gift from the Lord, Acts 5:31).

"And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints" (Rev. 19:8, King James Version). It's Christ's righteousness which has now at last been imparted, not merely legally imputed. It's His righteousness lived out in His church. It glorifies Christ, its Source. It's a beautiful demonstration to close the great controversy between Christ and Satan.

Let's remember: we can't believe in the Bridegroom unless we choose to believe also in "the Lamb's wife"--that she will repent. They are "one flesh"-to-be.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: May 3, 2004.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Mysterious Miracle in the Seed

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

God must have a terrific sense of humor. All the while that people created in His image arrogantly deny His existence and the record of His Creation, they are eating bread that constantly proclaims anew the miracle of creation. Each tiny seed with its embryo and endosperm sustains the very life of God's enemies.

Try to imagine yourself a single seed cast into the darkness of the earth. The soil around you is dry and powdery so that your bed becomes your tomb unless some precious rain from heaven falls. Only then can you awaken to fruit-bearing life.

In pre-scientific ages, people marveled at the mysterious miracle in the seed. The Creation story in Genesis tells four times of the divine miracle in every seed, renewed and extended in uncounted trillions of germinations since day three of Creation. Even today, the totality of scientific knowledge is powerless to invent one such life-giving seed.

A favorite theme of Scripture from early times compares seeds to the spoken words of God. "As the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and ... water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give ... bread to the eater, so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth" (Isa. 55:10, 11). Jesus built on this concept in His parable of the sower: "The seed is the word of God," He said (Luke 8:11).

Without moisture in the soil, changes in the permeability of the seed coat and inner layers cannot take place. And when the embryo germinates, the little plant must have rain for its searching roots to absorb nutrients for growth.

The Bible compares the Holy Spirit's action in the Christian life to showers of rain falling on thirsty plants. In other words, even Jesus' brilliant sermons cannot germinate into new life in human hearts without the gift of the Holy Spirit. Mountains of seed sown in a dust bowl would be wasted.

What can really change the hard hearts of men, women, and young people? Only that gift which is just as miraculous as the life imprisoned inside the seed--heaven's Holy Spirit. Without the Spirit, all the preaching in the world is like sowing seeds on a parking lot.

--Robert J. Wieland

From: Signs of the Times, "A Season of Rain: The Coming Spiritual Awakening," November 1989.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: "Solomon's Law"--A Lesson for Us Today

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

The story of King Solomon is one of the most fantastic in all sacred history. He starts out apparently perfect with that most rare gift of wisdom. He gets everything added to it. Every year he collects "666 talents of gold" until he has tons of it, he enjoys peace with his prosperity, "and all the earth sought the presence of Solomon to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart" (1 Kings 10:14, 24).

Solomon, you have it made! You have brought heaven on earth, better yet, you are fulfilling God's promise to Abraham that "in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Gen. 12:3). And then, Solomon, you blew it; you turned right around and "went after Ashtoreh, the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom, the abomination of the Ammonites." You built temples to pagan gods and set them up in our holy city of Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:1-8)! Why, oh why, would you do this? What made you fall like this?

This almost unbelievable history must have a lesson for us today--it's "Solomon's Law," which must be fulfilled again, more than 3000 years later until the lesson is learned. Add to Solomon's impressive "holy" obedience of his early years (with God's undeniable blessings) the factor of Old Covenant thinking, and the recipe calls for national apostasy to develop. Solomon reverses 500 years of Israel's history, takes them back to the "Egyptian" darkness from which they had been delivered.

Now, in our modern Christian history, if we add to all our "holy" obedience to the law (with God's undeniable blessings) the factor of Old Covenant theology, we also inevitably end up going to "Babylon" to learn methods of worship and patterns of thinking. We again reverse our own history. Those who have been sacredly commissioned to proclaim "Babylon the great is fallen" fulfill "Solomon's Law" by adopting Babylon's theology and worship. Solomon finally had the sense to repent. Lord, grant that same precious gift to us!

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: July 26, 2002.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: A Growing-up Process Now Taking Place

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Quarrels and contention come because of our love of self, says the apostle James (4:1-3). Whether it's a marital, family, neighborly, or even a theological quarrel, we feel the pressing desire to justify ourselves by our defense of what we did or said, shielding ourselves from accusation.

How juvenile we can become! But thank God, there is a growing-up process now taking place. We have come to Daniel's "time of the end" (11:35, 12:4). It's not only a time when "signs" in heaven and earth proclaim that the coming of the Lord draws nigh (James 5:8), but it's a time for spiritual growth in preparation for meeting the Lord of glory face to face at His second coming. A blessed time!

The preparation process is the experience of "justification by faith." We don't seek to justify ourselves; we wait upon the Lord to do it for us, in other words, we wait for justification by faith. That's the meaning of David's telling us, "Wait on the Lord, ... wait, I say, on the Lord" (Psalm 27:14). "Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass" (37:5). It will take Him some time, but it's so much better than fighting our way to "justification" on our own and winning our quarrel (we think)! "He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday" (vs. 6). "Wait patiently for Him" (vs. 7).

In this "time of the end" there is also the final cosmic Day of Atonement, the time for the special work of the cleansing of the heavenly sanctuary. It's the ministry of the Savior as High Priest in preparing a people to stand in the final moments of time. "In your patience [you] possess your souls," says the Savior, speaking of this time (Luke 21:19); but patience is impossible unless there is faith--unless we believe "the truth of the gospel" (Gal. 2:5).

Whether you're a teen or a centenarian, this is "present truth" (2 Peter 1:12).

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: August 22, 2006.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: Delivered From the "Bondage" of Egyptian Materialism

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

It's one of the greatest stories ever told, and it's 100 percent true: a man destined for the throne of the then-greatest empire in the world turns his back on that bright career in order to share with Jesus the bearing of His cross.

Moses was no dummy. He "was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians [considerable!], and was mighty in words and deeds" (Acts 7:22). He had the equivalent of a dozen doctoral degrees. (He is in fact even to this day the most widely read author of all time.) His earthly path was strewn with flowers; he was immensely popular as Egypt's Crown Prince; he had won military victories that endeared him to the nation; and the throne was his.

But he had learned about the sacrifice of Christ. True, he lived long before the incarnation of the Son of God, but that sacrifice was made "from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8), so that Moses could experience a heart-appreciation of the agape that led the Son of God to take those seven steps in condescension in our behalf that led Him to the "curse" of death on a cross for us (Phil. 2:5-8).

Here is a revelation that we need to understand. The world today is full of "the treasures in Egypt." Look for example at the shopping malls, Internet shopping, the car dealers' showrooms, and the palaces the real estate agents offer you. Many church members "esteem" those "treasures" as "greater riches" than "the reproach of Christ."

But look at what the agape of Christ did for a fellow-human being who by nature was born as selfish and world-loving as we are: "By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt" (Heb. 11:24-26).

Take a look at that same cross that Moses looked at and you'll find "the treasures" of today fade into insignificance. Then you'll be delivered from the "bondage" of Egyptian materialism.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 31, 1999.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."

Dial Daily Bread: The Bible and New Year's Resolutions

Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"

Does the Bible say anything about New Year's resolutions? Well, ... yes. Israel had just come out of Egypt when the Lord had said to them (at Passover time), "This month shall be your beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you" (Ex. 12:2).

Shortly afterwards, they made a New Year's resolution at Mount Sinai. In fact, it was something like saying it under solemn oath, for they were making this resolution to God: "All that the Lord has spoken we will do" (19:8). It was like Peter's resolution, while not at New Year, was the same time of year: "Though all men shall be offended because of Thee, yet will I never be offended" (Matt. 26:33, King James Version).

In both cases, those who made this New Year's resolution failed to keep it. Israel began worshipping a golden calf in a mere matter of days, and in Peter's case, he was denying his Lord and Savior in a matter of hours.

Both of those "resolutions" were "old covenant" in principle. And the dear Lord doesn't want us to get ourselves into old covenant resolutions, for they "give birth to bondage," says Galatians 4:24, that is, they lead us into spiritual slavery.

The little book Steps to Christ tells why: "You desire to give yourself to Him [the Lord], but you are weak in moral power, in slavery to doubt, and controlled by the habits of your life of sin. Your promises and resolutions are like ropes of sand. You cannot control your thoughts, your impulses, your affections. The knowledge of your broken promises and forfeited pledges weakens your confidence in your own sincerity, and causes you to feel that God cannot accept you" (p. 47).

Stop right there. Here's the problem! The memory of your frequent failures to keep your promises makes you feel that you are no good and "that God cannot accept you" or respect you. And that is horrible slavery.

A far better way to face the New Year is under the "new covenant." Instead of promising God you will do better, thank Him that He has promised to save you, that Christ has given Himself for you already and bought you with His blood, and that you are precious in His sight. The new covenant is Good News, the "old" is bad news.

--Robert J. Wieland

From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: January 1, 1999.
Copyright © 2018 by "Dial Daily Bread."